What’s Happened To M. Night Shyamalan?

Published 1 year ago
by
Sandy Schaefer
, Updated June 5th, 2013 at 6:57 am,

[Now that M. Night Shyamalan is making headlines again for After Earth, we thought it would be an opportune time to revisit this article – most of which was originally written back when The Last Airbender had opened in theaters – Ed.]

You might feel pity for M. Night Shyamalan, now that a string of poorly-received films has left his artistic reputation in shambles (with critics and many general moviegoers, anyway). Case in point: Sony went out of its way to avoid mentioning his involvement – as the co-screenwriter and director – in the marketing campaign for After Earth; though, that didn’t help to prevent Will & Jaden Smith’s sci-fi survival parable from experiencing a smaller-than-expected opening weekend at the box office.

What factors are to blame for the sharp (and painful) turn around in Shyamalan’s artistic standing, over the past decade? We’ll begin to answer that question by going back further in time, to examine the film that he’s (still) best associated with today – the 1999 ghost drama The Sixth Sense.

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The Sixth Sense

Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis in ‘The Sixth Sense’

The Sixth Sense is all but the definition of a sleeper hit. It featured Bruce Willis in a non-action role alongside then-unknown child actor Haley Joel Osment and indie actresses Toni Collette and Olivia Williams. Shyamalan had previously written and directed two little-seen films – Praying With Anger and Wide Awake – and had yet to prove that he could deliver a hit at the box office.

How then did The Sixth Sense manage to gross $26.7 million in its first weekend of release? Well, looking back at the film’s original trailer, it was exceptionally well-constructed and made the film appear to be a terse and spooky thriller that is heavy on atmosphere (and well-executed scares):

Besides being well-received critically, The Sixth Sense became a pop sensation that claimed the U.S. box office crown for five consecutive weeks, grossed almost $673 million worldwide, and earned Shyamalan Oscar nods for his writing and directing. However, I remember that there were two things that moviegoers just could not stop discussing: Osment’s performance and – of course – that legendary “twist ending.”

Sixth Sense established some important things about Shyamalan the storyteller, in particular:

He enjoys playing with – then defying - what he believes to be the audience’s expectations.

The stories he tells are very much allegorical in nature, above all else.

Cut to the present, and Sixth Sense holds up as a creepy – if, admittedly, kind of ponderous at times – story about people coming to terms with their painful pasts (e.g. “ghosts”) through open communication with one another.

Unfortunately, because the big twist is so well-known nowadays – or, at the least, most first-time viewers know there’s a surprise ending going in – the film struggles to have as much impact as it did upon its original release.

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Unbreakable

Samuel L. Jackson in ‘Unbreakable’

Shyamalan really began to establish his reputation as a secretive filmmaker with his followup to The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable. The teaser for the film (which you can watch below) was moody and mysterious – with just some expository dialogue that hinted what the flick was about – and, naturally, moviegoers with the memory of The Sixth Sense fresh on their minds, were intrigued.

Unbreakable was not the same level of hit – critically or financially – as The Sixth Sense; nonetheless, it secured Shyamalan’s place as someone interested in crafting thoughtful, character-oriented allegories through the lens of genre movies. The film has since gained a (semi-)cult following, in part because it is a “superhero movie” that delves deep into the philosophical implications of an inhumanly-powered being (re: destiny, responsibility, etc.) – albeit, fully-grounded in a real-world setting.

There were certain problems that popped up in Unbreakable that began to hint at Shyamalan’s limitations as a filmmaker. Shymalan’s approach remained as personal and deeply-felt as ever, yet his movies were already starting to walk that fine line between compelling storytelling and the cinematic equivalent of a soapbox sermon (which is rarely, if ever, a good thing).

Furthermore, there’s long been disagreement over whether the twist ending is a compelling development – or just an all-too familiar spin on the classic hero/villain dichotomy (one that’s meant to be more profound than it actually is). That debate, of course, is still ongoing today but, moving on…

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Swingaway 1 year ago

I love the depth and imagination of his movies,they all had a message or a lesson, they are all unique and creative. I’m so tired of the cookie cutter movies that require absolutely no thought or imagination when viewing them. Too many box office hits are just spoon feeding us. Shaymalan tells us a story, showing us the worst and the most beautiful/precious moments of life, humanity, nature and well adding in a little magic/hope never hurts. Life can be so short. Limiting your outlook and only seeing our world as black and white is well…just sad. Of all his movies the Happening was my least favourite but personally it was simply some of the acting.The last airbender, I’m a fan of the animated series and i respect his take on it, wanting it to be a more serious film, more authentic. I just believe in this case when something is as loved as the original series is don’t play too much with it. This should have been an opportunity to showcase Avatar the last airbender not try to make adults take it seriously…fans of the show already do and the fact that the cartoon is freakin halarious, has you laughing one minute and contemplating a deeper meaning the next is well one of the biggest reasons i’ve watched it with my kids. I cringe every time anyone talks about M Knight Shaymalans movies, always a negative comment…well I’m a fan and always will be. I’ll go see anything he works on and never feel wanting.

I think you were a little too kind on the last airbender. There was nothing about the film that was remotely interesting. Even the special effects seem cheesy and a waste of the ILM crew’s talents…Night sure has a big, stupid, ego.

I completely agree with John when it comes to avatar the movie. The series was amazing and was full of personality that made you like the characters while in the movie the downplay the basic ability of benders (the seen where 6 benders lift a 20-40 pound rock and taking 5 minuets of complicated movements to gently float it in the air). I dont think there was one line in the movie were a character said “I feel” or “I like”. there was literally now emotion. it was a poorly paced non-stop action movie that ruined the comedic and fun undertone to the series while still having a plot. So yes Shamalan is a hack when it comes to a real script were emotion and pacing is involved (so every movie).

People just don’t understand The Village. Everybody thinks it’s a Thriller, a horror film, but it’s not. It’s a love story. It’s the same thing with Lady in the Water- it’s based off a story he wrote for his children. It unfolds like a children’s story, and that’s part of the charm. The Happening wasn’t his best film, but it was good enough to be considred a Shyamalan. As for After Earth… there really wasn’t any soul in it. Lately It feels like Shyamalan is listening to the critisism and second guessing himself- he’s doing what the audience wants, not what he wants to do. So the end result is a typical movie that shocks nobody, and the very people who WANTED that start pushing him down again. All I can say is, keep your head up, Night. Don’t listen to what they’re saying. Do what you want to, not what anybody else wants you to.

It’s called karma. He stole the best parts of a children’s book by popular author Margaret Peterson Haddix to “write” The Village…and the parts of the plot that don’t make sense are the parts he changed and added. He even had the nerve to use the same names of the characters. Basic human belief, no matter what religion…you shouldn’t steal. He’s getting what’s deserved…who knows what else he has plagiarized ?

When I saw The Village, I thought it was a blatant rip-off of The Giver which involves the same society telling people not to go in the woods because monsters live in there. only to find out that what really is beyond the woods is a normal present day society

I am thrilled its not more stupid reality shows. Which are never real. Can’t take another housewife show or stranded somewhere eating bugs (stranded with a camera crew). Of course these shows are probably great for the networks they aren’t paying out much.

I think M Night Shyamalan became his own worst enemy. As one of the posters said, he should have just stayed true to himself instead to trying to make blockbuster hits. I haven’t seen “The village” and “the last Airbender”. I have loved all his earlier movies until “Signs”. People don’t like the ending because it is heavy on spirituality and suspense and refuses to give the typical action-movie climax. I absolutely loved how everything comes full circle for the protagonist and his family through this unusual close encounters.
I was appalled by how much I hated “The happening” It had only absurdities and no rationality and redeeming factors. The acting and dialogue were horrible.
I am still a fan of Mr Shyamalan. I hope he makes a suspense thriller that is right up his alley.

In all honesty, despite the fact that Sixth Sense is an awesome concept (and I love movies that make you believe one way and end another), and everything about the movie was well done, there was that big plot problem that ruins the movie. At first you think abouut how awesome it was but then can’t grasp how Willis “didn’t know”.
Signs was “meh”. A build up that didn’t really have much of an ending. It was ok.
Didn’t see Lady in the Water but I did like the Village pretty good. My kind of ending.
I understand The Last Airbender was a kid movie but it was horrible.
Not as horrible as The Happening. Such a retarded movie idea. How in the world could you pitch this concept to a dog? Walhberg was total crap.
Night is my kind of storyteller, toying with the mind then revealing what’s really going on. However, you gotta be careful because its usually a hit or miss ending. I’m that way in much of my writing but I myself am flawed just as he is.

I liked The Village, but I agree most of his movies are very bad, there’s no excuse like “people don’t get them” or “is not horror, is for children”. Honestly, Lady in the Water is just lame for example. I never liked Signs, too preachy for me and with a lot of plot holes (aliens have advance technology to travel fastes-than-light in invisible ships and yet they are stopped by a wood door? and they carry no weapons? never they thought in creating fire guns along with their ships? even if you ignore the water thing still not make sense”. The Sitxh Sense and Umbreakable were OK but all other movies of him were really bad. But, anyways, I know is a matter of opinion, as I said, I liked The Village so.

This is perhaps my film of the decade so far. The reasons are too numerous to go into in such a short critique. Surely there have not been too many films that can take you through the range of emotions that the Sixth Sense does. The prime emotion; fear, is a difficult emotion to generate in a modern audience that has seen it all before, but this film succeeds where others fail, praying on your imagination and generating suspense from subtle devices rather than blatant horror.

It is such a relief that the performances of Willis and the excellent Osment live up to an excellently directed quality storyline. I will be disappointed if the youngster doesn’t receive at least an academy nomination.

I seldom go to the cinema twice to watch a film, in fact I cannot remember when I have done it before. Tonight I am taking an old friend to see this film as it will be a tragedy if he doesn’t see it on the big screen. He has heard so much about it that he is reluctant to go, as I am when something is over-hyped. Just for a change though, here is a film that lives up to its billing and has you thinking about it for weeks to come. As for the twist at the end? Well it totally disorientated me, my mind spinning back throughout the whole film. A fantastic punchline to my film of the year.

I agree with this review of M. Night’s films and this is probably the best recap I have seen. I am an M. Night Shyamalen fan, not just a Sixth Sense fan. I personally really enjoyed Lady in the Water, Signs and The Village. For me, his work is not the same old Hollywood formula, which I tire of. I am assaulted by the idea that anyone would suggest that this gifted artist “quite already” or any of the other cruel things people say.

I feel as though M. Night pigeon holed himself with Sixth Sense, however. Let’s face it, that movie was more of an optical illusion than anything else, and there is simply no way to do that twice. To even try is a foolhardy. That people would compare every movie he makes afterward with that, just shows how (sorry) stupid people can be on this stuff.

I believe that having this kind of super success gave a new and inexperienced director the keys to the kingdom, so to speak, with huge budgets to make another blockbuster and he just wasn’t ready for it. His directorial skill was unrefined, uncertain and inconsistent. I am sure that this “one hit wonder” phenomena also went to his head so that he couldn’t be convinced if he had a bad script or a bad plot. This with millions of dollars at one’s disposal is a bad combination.

He shot up the ranks and missed the valuable knowledge one gets from the trench work. Collaboration is the best “solution” I have seen. I would hate to see him bow out or otherwise not work on the world stage anymore. That he has at least 4 solid hits says the man can do it, he just needs to know what he did that worked.

Unbreakable was a great movie. It’s pretty sad to see Shymalan fall so low. After watching the happening and the last airbender i almost thought that he was just trolling everyone with bad movies. How can those pieces of garbage be made by the mind behind unbreakable? Or the sixth sense? Some of my favorite movies. I hope that he can get back on track, but honestly looking at the painful mistakes he’s made with these movies it’s hard to see it.

I loved most of M. Night’s movies and I want MORE! I have not seen Airbender yet but now that I know he was involved I’ll watch it. Of all of his movies I like “Signs” the best and I own it and re-watch it from time to time. The Happening was pretty entertaining and I loved “Unbreakable”, I would buy that one if I could find it. I watched Lady in the Lake but frankly I don’t remember much about it, not really a comment on the film, I may have been in a funk when I watched it. I will watch it again. I loved “The Life of Pi” and I can see a bit of his touch even though he only produced and did not direct.
Keep on making more movies no matter what “they” say! I am a solid fan!

As long as he keeps himself off the screen with his horrendous acting he has a chance. Otherwise if I find out he’s in the credits as a cast member, I’ll make a point NOT to watch it.
If he had any true friends, they’d tell him to stop screwing up his own work by showing his face in it.